Why does Do Not Disturb keep turning on by itself?

⚡ Fast fix

• Check Focus schedules on your iPhone® and schedules on your Android® device.
• Look for Driving Focus or Bedtime Focus.
• See if any calendar events are linked to Do Not Disturb.
• Try restarting or resetting Focus settings to resolve most issues.

The Do Not Disturb feature silences alerts so you don’t have to worry about interruptions or disruptive noises from your device. It’s a useful feature for staying focused, especially since even silent phone notifications can be incredibly distracting.

However, when Do Not Disturb turns on automatically, you may miss important notifications without even realizing what happened. So why does Do Not Disturb keep turning on? Asurion Experts are here to help you get to the bottom of the issue, whether it's getting the most out of Focus mode or figuring out how to turn off Bedtime mode. Follow these steps to stop your phone from continually turning on Do Not Disturb.

Why does your phone turn on Do Not Disturb automatically?

On iOS, Focus modes replaced the classic Do Not Disturb feature. iPhone Focus modes are customizable settings that silence specific notifications and alerts based on your current activity, like Driving, Work, or Sleep. You can adjust the settings for each activity to allow specific notifications.

Instead of turning on Focus modes manually, users can set them up to automatically activate based on timing or location. Supported devices with Apple Intelligence have a Reduce Interruptions Focus mode that uses AI to only show the user urgent notifications.

Automations that activate Focus modes may make it seem like your iPhone is randomly turning Do Not Disturb on and off. So, if you’re wondering why Do Not Disturb keeps turning on, check your Focus modes.

Android phones have a similar Focus mode feature. Do not disturb modes on Android can also be automated with a schedule or by location, and you won’t receive notifications from silenced apps while Focus mode is on.

Check schedules, automations, and device sync

The simplest explanation for why Do Not Disturb keeps turning on is that you’ve pressed some buttons by mistake. On an iPhone, you can turn Do Not Disturb on or off in the Control Center, which is easy to do by accident. Pull up the Control Center to see if you may have tapped on Focus. On an Android, you can also easily turn on focus modes in Quick Settings by accident.

If that’s not what happened, why else could your iPhone or Android keep turning on Do Not Disturb?

You may have time, location, or app-based automations enabled that trigger Focus mode. For example, a time-based Focus mode may turn on at 8 am and turn off at 6 pm to help you focus during the workday.

The Focus mode settings don’t even need to come from your phone, necessarily. If you share iCloud® or Apple IDs®, they may mirror Focus status across devices. On your iPhone, go to Settings > Focus. Turn off Share Across Devices to stop this Focus syncing. With this setting turned off, hopefully, you'll no longer need to wonder why your iPhone Do Not Disturb keeps turning on. 

Stop unwanted Focus activations

If you want to stop your Android phone or iPhone from turning on Do Not Disturb, the simplest method is to disable automations.

On iPhone, follow these steps:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to Focus > Do Not Disturb.
3. Under Set a Schedule, turn off any existing schedules. You may have schedules based on days and times of the week, locations, or app usage.
4. If Smart Activation is enabled, turn it off. This setting automatically turns on Do Not Disturb focus based on factors such as your app usage and location.

On Android, the steps are slightly different.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to Digital Wellbeing & parental controls > Focus mode.
3. Under the Your Schedule section, edit or delete any existing schedules that keep turning on Do Not Disturb on Android.
4. Go back to the Settings main menu and select Modes and Routines.
5. Select Routines.
6. Edit or delete any routines that are causing Do Not Disturb to keep turning on.

Check your notification settings, too, in case you have inadvertently silenced notifications there. You may need to restart your phone to apply the new settings.